Seth Rich Murder Case Stirs Russia Doubts

May 17, 2017

Exclusive: New claims have revived old suspicions that slain Democratic Party staffer Seth Rich, not Russia, was the source of Democratic emails that were slipped to WikiLeaks last year, reports Joe Lauria.

By Joe Lauria (Updated with new details on May 20, 2017)

A private investigator looking into last year’s murder of Seth Rich, an employee of the Democratic National Committee, has said that the victim’s computer shows he was in contact with WikiLeaks and may have leaked Democratic Party emails being blamed instead on Russia.

Slain Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich

And an anonymous federal investigator has gone even further, reportedly telling Fox News that the slain employee sent WikiLeaks more than 40,000 emails and 17,000 attachments, which would suggest that Rich, not Russia, leaked the material to WikiLeaks.

Seth Rich was a 27-year old Voter Expansion Data Director for the Democratic Party when he was shot dead on a Washington street last July. Police said it was a robbery attempt, but Rich’s father said his wallet, money and credit cards were not taken.

Shortly after Rich’s murder, WikiLeaks posted a Tweet offering a $20,000 reward for information leading to the solution of the mystery of who killed Seth Rich. WikiLeaks’ interest in the case suggested that Rich might have been involved in the DNC email leak although WikiLeaks never reveals the sources who give it confidential information about governments and companies that WikiLeaks then publishes online.

Julian Assange, WikiLeaks founder and publisher, brought up Rich’s murder out of context in an interview with Dutch TV last August. “Whistle-blowers go to significant efforts to get us material and often very significant risks,” Assange said. “As a 27-year-old, works for the DNC, was shot in the back, murdered just a few weeks ago for unknown reasons as he was walking down the street in Washington.”

Pressed by the interviewer to say whether Rich was the source of the DNC emails, Assange said WikiLeaks never reveals its sources. Yet, it appeared to be an indirect way of naming Rich, while formally maintaining WikiLeak’s policy. An alternative view would be to believe that Assange is cynically using Rich’s death to divert the trail from the real source.

Further suggesting that WikiLeaks has a strong interest in the Seth Rich case, Assange on Tuesday morning retweeted the Fox5 News report citing the new developments in the murder mystery.

There also has been pushback against the Fox reports. NBC News cited a current FBI official and a former one denying that “an FBI analysis of a computer belonging to Rich contained thousands of e-mails to and from WikiLeaks. Local police in Washington, D.C., never even gave the FBI Rich’s laptop to analyze after his murder, according to the current FBI official. And a former law enforcement official with first-hand knowledge of Rich’s laptop said the claim was incorrect.”

Rich’s parents also have blasted the reports of their son’s possible involvement with WikiLeaks. “As we’ve seen through the past year of unsubstantiated claims, we see no facts, we have seen no evidence, we have been approached with no emails and only learned about this when contacted by the press,” said Rich’s family spokesman, Brad Bauman, who has worked as a Democratic Party public relations consultant.

However someone embarking on such a risky move as leaking thousands of emails purloined from his or her employer is unlikely to tell even family and friends. Edward Snowden, for instance, informed no one, including his longtime girlfriend, that he had leaked a trove of National Security Agency secrets to journalist Glenn Greenwald.

DNC Emails Revealed

Last July, the same month Rich died, WikiLeaks published thousands of Democratic Party emails which showed the Democratic National Committee violated its own charter that pledges neutrality by working for Hillary Clinton against her primary challenger, Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at a Democratic presidential debate sponsored by CNN.

After the DNC emails were leaked, Clinton and other Democrats immediately blamed Russia for hacking their computers, but the DNC refused to allow the FBI to examine its computer servers to see who might have hacked in.

Instead the DNC turned to a private company, CrowdStrike, to investigate. The company – linked to the anti-Russian think tank, the Atlantic Council – concluded that Russia was behind the hack. The company said it was a sophisticated attack but also that the hackers sloppily left behind Cyrillic script and the name of the first Soviet chief of secret police – clues cited to pin the hack on Russia.

Russia and WikiLeaks have both denied that Russia was the source of the leaked emails.

William Binney, arguably one of the best mathematicians ever to work at the National Security Agency, and former CIA officer Ray McGovern, have argued that the emails must have come from a leak because a hack would be traceable by the NSA.

After Trump’s election victory, President Obama’s intelligence agencies also pinned the blame for the DNC and other Democratic-connected leaks on Russia and depicted the leaks as part of a Russian government scheme to hurt the Clinton campaign and thus boost Donald Trump.

But the Jan. 6 report by selected analysts at the FBI, CIA and NSA – and released by Obama’s Director of National Intelligence James Clapper – offered no hard evidence of Russian guilt, merely intelligence “assessments.”

A New Turn

Now, the email mystery has taken a new turn. While the Seth Rich murder case remains unsolved, a private detective hired by an anonymous third party for Rich’s family has spoken out, saying there is evidence on Seth Rich’s computer indicating that he was in touch with WikiLeaks.

Rod Wheeler, a former D.C. homicide detective, also told the local Washington Fox TV affiliate on Monday night that a police source told him the detectives were ordered to back off the murder investigation, a claim that D.C. police denied. Fox later retracted its story.

Wheeler also raised questions about the relationship between the DNC and Democratic D.C. Mayor Muriel Browser, who could have control over the D.C. police investigation. Browser told The Daily Caller: “I don’t think I particularly talked to the DNC. They came in to talk to us. I was with [Rich’s family] and their discussions with us.” When she was asked about Wheeler’s assertion that the DC police were told to shut down the case, Browser said: “Certainly not. That’s preposterous.”

The DNC did not respond to questions put to its press office by Consortium News regarding whether Rich would have had legal access to the DNC emails. Rich was not included as a participant in any of the more than 40,000 emails given to WikiLeaks.

The FBI told the Washington Post it is a matter for the D.C. police. But Wheeler believes Rich’s computer may be in the custody of the FBI. It is not clear exactly what role, if any, the FBI has played in the Seth Rich murder case, an FBI that joined in the effort to blame Russia and was under the command of Director James Comey until he was fired by President Trump on May 9.

Through the Democratic Party-linked spokesman, Rich’s family said Wheeler was not authorized to speak for them. “The services of the private investigator who spoke to press was offered to the Rich family and paid for by a third party, and contractually was barred from speaking to press or anyone outside of law enforcement or the family unless explicitly authorized by the family,” Bauman said. The third party that Bauman says is paying Wheeler has not been positively identified.

Following Wheeler’s assertions to the local Fox station, an unnamed federal investigator reportedly told Fox network news that the FBI inspected Rich’s computer within 96 hours of his murder. The investigator told Fox he had read through the emails, which he claimed numbered 45,053 as well as 17,761 attachments. Such exact numbers appear to lend credibility to the claim, though it is not out of the question that they could have been fabricated to match the number of items believed given to WikiLeaks.

According to the Fox News report, the investigator also said the emails and attachments had been sent among DNC leaders between January 2015 and May 2016. He said Rich sent the emails and attachments to Gavin MacFadyen, an American journalist, filmmaker and director of WikiLeaks in London, where MacFadyen died of natural causes last year.

Joe Lauria is a veteran foreign-affairs journalist. He has written for the Boston Globe, the Sunday Times of London and the Wall Street Journal among other newspapers. He is the author of “How I Lost By Hillary Clinton” published by OR Books in June 2017. He can be reached at joelauria@gmail.com and followed on Twitter at @unjoe.

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140 comments for “Seth Rich Murder Case Stirs Russia Doubts”

Kevin Beck

May 27, 2017 at 21:48

I’m glad the rest of the presstitutes are catching up on this story. There is more evidence to support this theory than there is any line of thinking about President Trump “colluding” with the Russians (whatever the heck that means).

Anton from Russia

May 24, 2017 at 04:08

When you understand that we in Russia do not care who will be President of the United States.
We just welcome any American who says: “That Russians and Americans are not enemies. We have nothing to share. And won the cold war China”.
That’s when you realize that you know nothing about Russia but lies.
And why is the killer the Rich will never be found.

Clueless Citizen

May 24, 2017 at 01:23

One of the sources retracted their story. Will the author do so likewise?

I was hoping to see the reporter and this site retract this story as well. When Fox News retracts, and admits they didn’t give the story the scrutiny it deserves, I don’t understand how this site would just stay silent.

Isn’t the curious element here that Seth Rich’s laptop disappeared and no one knows who has it? Was he murdered to get his laptop?

Bob

May 19, 2017 at 06:57

It’s hard to watch consortium news sink so low as to latch on to these ridiculous right wing conspiracy theories in a desperate attempt to never believe Russia could be behind anything devious. This used to be a reliable source of news.

Skip Scott

May 19, 2017 at 09:24

Right wing? Just because we’re mostly anti Hillary and anti Deep State? You have a curious definition of right wing.

akech

May 19, 2017 at 15:42

Bob,
I am not a “right wing conspiracy theorists”! I voted for Barack Obama two times and was head over heels while he was singing he was “THE CHANGE WE CAN BELIEVE IN”!
I also voted for Bernie Sanders before he was blocked from winning due to predetermined CORONATION of Hillary! Instead of challenging the DNC establishment, Sanders has revealed, without saying a word, that he was/is merely a Lead Sheepdog for DNC.

The DNC party elites are controlling and deceiving its voters. Obamacare was a scam perpetrated by DNC, The people talking on link below are no right wing lunatics, they are DNC elites who sold Barack Obama and Obamacare to the nation.

Lying to the American voters is bipartisan(GOP and DNC); the powerless Americans are doomed!

I’m not sure when this site started to sink, I hadn’t been here for awhile and then started looking in again recently, but you’re right it is sad. This place used to be about journalism, not wild speculation and conjecture.

Anon

May 20, 2017 at 09:04

You are not fooling anyone. You are an unprincipled propagandist paid to troll.
Perhaps you will reveal your paymaster.

HpO

May 18, 2017 at 18:11

I love high-profile murder mysteries, but only when they’re solved. And that’s why I loathe epic cold cases like the JFK, Malcolm X, MLK, Robert Kennedy, Patrick Finucane, Daniel Pearl, Michael Hastings and Jo Cox assassinations. And such as the PKI, Air India 182, Pan Am 103, 9/11, Madrid 2004, 7/7, Mumbai 2008, Ukraine 2014 and MH-17 massacres. For only on Judgment Day will I get to see the Happy Ending, when all the Ever-Cowardly-Who-Done-Its we call our democratic governments, all fearful and trembling and everything, shall do their conspiracy thing for one last time in the presence of Judge Duo, a.k.a. the GodFather & Son Syndicate Unlimited. The King of kings with the Lord of lords will just give it to them, of course; you know, that Ever So Holy and Just, Final Kill! Praise God & Jesus! – you’ll hear me cry out (quite the opposite of the tearful crying that I often do nowadays) on behalf of the Assassinated and the Massacred.

Like for my brother Seth Rich here.

So thank you, Joe Lauria, for the obituary and eulogy. But don’t bother solving the case. It’ll never happen.

akech

May 18, 2017 at 14:53

(a) For anyone who was not an eye witness to Seth Rich’s murder, to label his brutal demise as a “BOTCHED” robbery is very curious indeed!

(b) For MSM to launch discrediting attacks on the character of Rod Wheeler while the murder of this young man goes unsolved for almost a year is disturbing. Why would anyone want to limit the direction and scope of this murder investigation?

(c) Why would the spokesman for the family of the late Seth Rich’s , Brad Bauman, be trying very hard to discredit Rod Wheeler findings, even if these findings turn out to untrue? Is he really interested in finding the killer(s) in this so called “botched’ robbery? Why is he singing the same chorus with NY Times?

Trump is being blamed.It is a set up.The dnc staffer Seth Rich was responsible for the leaked emails.Seth is no longer with us.

Zachary Smith

May 18, 2017 at 12:49

I’ll admit that I don’t have any idea what’s going on with this story, but I do suspect a lot of people are telling some really big lies. Hopefully articles like this as well as intelligent comments will eventually help me sort it all out. Here is a patchwork piece I just ran into for interested folks to examine.

People will scoff about this, and the Cliontonistas appear to have succeeded in irreparably muddying the waters, but this incident is of vital importance in American history as the Rich leak appears to have been an effort to thwart the ‘donor’-Clinton operation to start WWIII against Russia, an operation which is very much alive at this moment.

Later, Hannity interviewed Wheeler?—?a former DC homicide investigator turned Fox News contributor who once apologized for his claim that a “national underground network” of gun-toting lesbians was terrorizing the Washington, D.C. area.
Wheeler admitted that his conjecture about Rich being in touch with WikiLeaks wasn’t actually based on evidence.
“I have never seen the emails myself directly, I haven’t seen the computer that Seth Rich used,” he said. “With the totality of everything else I’ve found in this case, it’s very consistent for a person with my experience to begin to think, well, perhaps there were some email communications between Seth and WikiLeaks.”

Sheer conjecture folks.

Sam F

May 18, 2017 at 12:35

We need hardly read that propaganda article to see that “trump-russia-scandal-swirls” is your intent here.
This article makes plain its foundation and much clarifies what is presently known.
That is good journalism, not the scandal-swirling you are trying to substitute.

But they don’t really debunk it. The Fox story had two sources: the named one, Rod Wheeler, and an anonymous “federal investigator”. The first one may be flaky (paid for by a political rich guy), and later backtracked his statements, but the other source did not. The rest of the “debunking” consists of the official denials (coupled with a curiously pugnacious ignorance: ‘no, the FBI never even requested Seth Rich’s laptop to investigate.’ What !?) and the strongly worded denials of the family ‘spokesman’, bought and paid for by the Democratic Party. So it finally comes down to he-said, she-said claims about the laptop that we’ll never see. And the official denials lack relevance, since what’s alleged is an official cover-up.

The Think Progress article begins as disingenuous with the title asserting “…Debunked Seth Rich DNC Story..” – as clearly WikiLeaks’ stance and investigator Wheeler’s interviews illustrate it hasn’t been fully or otherwise “debunked”. The article is written to give an impression that Mr. Wheeler is somehow “confessing” or ending his “charade”, when his conjectures are emphasized by himself during TV interviews and he’s careful not to jump to any conclusions. Think Progress’ writers are consciously spinning while avoiding giving any credit to Wheeler, for the purpose of burying or erasing the potential scandal in the minds of their readers.

In an interview months ago seen by over 2,000,000 viewers on YouTube by John Pilger of Julian Assange, Mr. Assange noted his perception that emails showing former Secretary of State Clinton’s awareness that Saudi Arabia was financing ISIS and other terrorist mercenaries in the Middle East was the most damaging to potential President Clinton, and the most scandalous of them all. U.S., U.K., French, Saudi, Qatari, Israeli, etc. state-sponsorship of terrorism (still, astonishingly, covered up),when known by the world’s people, represents one of the greatest scandals of the 21st century.

Whether it was Seth Rich who leaked those emails (most likely) or not, those with the real power in the U.S. had ruled out Clinton as president months before the election after the WikiLeaks postings went viral, Trump became the selection as he was the “cleaner” new CEO, the Russia option was engineered – an irrational intensification of anti-Russia propaganda – to distract Americans’ attention away from state-sponsorship of ISIS/terrorism, and the financial/corporate elites resumed conducting war-facilitated business as usual. Unfortunately, it has become an increasingly dangerous-for-humanity business. .

Skip Scott

May 18, 2017 at 19:53

Jerry-

Good post. The story that we created and are supporting ISIS is one that needs to be screamed from the rooftops. Part of all this BS about Trump giving classified info the the evil Ruskies, is to distract us from the fact that we (and the zionists) support ISIS and are trying to turn the entire ME into a chaotic mess. The person who endangered the Mossad asset inside ISIS (if there even is one) is whoever leaked it to the press, not who told the Russians. The MSM is always weak on their logic, all you have to do is think for yourself.

vetran

May 18, 2017 at 09:41

Since when the police and/or FBI seize and check computer(s) after a robbery (or attempted one)?
Is that normal procedure?

Thank you, Joe Lauria. This issue is connected with the whole sorry scene in Washington, and pretty important, too. Partisanship of career politicians because of money in politics has trumped (pardon the pun) any iota of democracy that existed before this most disconcerting campaign and election. If this monster isn’t resolved sooner rather than later, something nasty is coming.

Reading commentary on all types of websites tells me that Americans are horribly closed-minded, and why? Western society has gotten nuttier and nuttier, identity politics is replacing common sense. The Democrats are giving payback to the obstruction Republicans gave Obama, but Obama could have set an example of being for improving the lot of the people, which he did not and aided plutocrats while having both houses of Congress

Seth Rich is dead and clues that he was the source of the leaks because he was idealistically concerned about partisan games of the DNC should be followed. We’re at a historic moment where the situation can either improve or reach a point of no return.

Joe Lauria

May 18, 2017 at 08:00

In answer to critics here, for this story to be a complete lie the following must be true: Rod Wheeler has completely made up this story from scratch and has been talking about at length on TV for two days for some unknown reason, maybe because he’s being paid by a Republican money bags (we don’t know who is paying him); Assange has mentioned Rich’s death in the context of WikiLeaks’ whistleblowers and continues to be interested in the story because is deviously and cynically using the opportunity afforded by the death of this young man to divert attention from the real source of the leak and also that Fox Network News either completely made up a character they are calling a “federal investigator” who says he read the DNC emails on Rich’s computer sent to WikiLeaks or the federal investigator does indeed exist but for his own agenda has totally made up the story about seeing these emails. Since none of this can proven, the fact that these new claims have indeed revived old suspicions that Rich, not Russia, was the source of Democratic emails that were slipped to WikiLeaks last year, and the fact that Russian guilt has not come close to being proven, it was justified to write this article with appropriate skepticism.

DFH1

May 18, 2017 at 11:14

Well, lets look at it a different way. First, Rod Wheeler has a checkered history that should have led this site to investigate the issue of his credibility, especially since other outlets, in interviews with him, confirmed that he made these comments without any evidence to back them up. He has not seen the computer, he has no direct evidence of contact between Rich and Wikileaks. And, a website which earned its reputation for doing excellent journalism, would have investigated that before publishing a conjecture based article.

Secondly, my understanding is that Wikileaks has a policy of not identifying those who leak to them. If Assange and Wikileaks are strongly hinting that Seth Rich is the leaker, they are in violation of their own policy. If I’m thinking of leaking information to Wikileaks, the fact that they were strongly hinting that Rich was the leaker would certainly make me less comfortable exchanging information with them. So, no, I don’t believe that Wikileaks’ actions in this case can realistically be seen as proof of anything.

Thirdly, the fact is that people leak misinformation consistently based on their own agenda. Some of the things leaked about Trump proved not to be true (sadly, most has been confirmed), as an example. The police say they never gave the laptop to the FBI, and that the laptop had no evidence of contact between Rich and Wikileaks. And, yes, if police believed it was a robbery they would still look at his laptop because, especially where murder is involved, they need to be thorough.

For this story to be true, then, you have to believe an investigator with a history of making outlandish statements has gotten this right, that Wikileaks won’t directly identify leakers but are ok with providing strong hints about their identities over twitter, and that unidentified sources always tell the truth.

You must also believe that an individual whose job was to assist people in finding their polling places would have access to the e-mails of everyone at the DNC.

And finally, you must also believe that the release of these e-mails were of such import that someone at the DNC was willing to kill Seth Rich.

Sheryl

May 18, 2017 at 12:15

Good analysis.

Joe Lauria

May 18, 2017 at 12:19

I would not lecture me or this site about journalism. The story has all the denials in it and is a lot more balanced than corporate media accounts of supposed Russian meddling in the 2016 election, which asks us to believe unnamed intelligence officials. This article does not say these new allegations are true. It does not take a position on that. It merely reports them as they are newsworthy and the article gives context to this entire sorry mess. Wheeler never said he saw the contents of the computer. He was quoting a source who he nows says is the federal investigator later quoted by Fox. Is this source credible? We don’t know that. My article does not say he is or is not, the way corporate media has completely believed intelligence agencies with a history of deception.

Skip Scott

May 18, 2017 at 14:01

Joe-

Thanks for your work and your integrity. This is a story that really needs to be investigated.
Consortium News is like and oasis in the desert. You are an important part of it.

I have a question? Why didn’t the killer of Seth Rich (if he was a “Democrat”) take the computer with him after killing Seth?

Sam F

May 18, 2017 at 12:27

DFH1, your comment appears to be malicious and partisan:

1. We don’t know what Wheeler knows, but his information and reasoning are significant;
2. No article can be based upon clear evidence at this point, so you are pretending that the faculty of human reasoning on the basis of probabilities is suddenly incapable of seeking truth, when all of your own statements are also conjecture;
3. You falsely denounce this website as less credible than the mass media, when it is obviously superior both in reasoning and concern with facts, and that denunciation appears to be your purpose;
4. Plainly this article nowhere suggests that “unidentified sources always tell the truth”;
5. Seth Rich’s job at DNC was not “to assist people in finding their polling places” but in fact had IT interactions, and challenging his access from DNC itself is silly in your argument to support the unfounded theory of foreign hacking;
6. Whoever killed Seth Rich clearly had a motive other than robbery, so your suggestion that no one at or connected with DNC could have had a motive is mere conjecture that there was some other sinister organization with an independent extreme motive, which is far less likely on present information;

Finally, the information from Wikileaks, the “anonymous federal investigator, and Wheeler are highly material, and the article shows well the possibilities, as well as the necessity of exposing what is known. Your attack ignores the evidence and public interest served by the article and the website.

Skip Scott

May 18, 2017 at 19:42

Thanks Sam F. You said it far better than I could have. This DHF1 is some kind of MSM troll. We seem to be getting more of them here lately. First it was in regards to anything pertaining to Israel (to be expected), now it’s with Russiagate. Soon they will try to silence us altogether by gaining control of the web.

DFH1

May 18, 2017 at 21:44

Nope, not an MSM troll. Not even sure what that is,

Long time reader of the site going back to the Bush years. Hadn’t been here for awhile and was surprised to see this sort of article. Just decided to let my disappointment known.

Daniel Foley

May 18, 2017 at 03:46

There is a petition to Donald Trump to pardon Julian Assange. This petition was signed by many members of VIPS. I am curious as to what the petitioners wish to pardon him for? All that he has published or everything he has done? It would be informative to hear from them and their reason for their signing the petition. The VIPS are a group of whistle blowers who publish on this site occasionally.

Clueless Citizens

May 18, 2017 at 02:57

Nicely written fiction. Not a single person from the DNC election HQ is interviewed to find out if Mr. Rich indeed had access to all emails that WikiLeaks published. Some of the sources cited seemed not credible.

Carolab

May 22, 2017 at 01:33

Clueless – sorry, but you truly are. Seth Rich was the Data Director of the Voter Expansion Project for the DNC. Seth was hired in 2014 to work on the Project. He did the polling data. Which means he had access to the entire network. He was a crusader for voting rights and had a particular issue with voter suppression. His job was to help ensure everyone got to the polls. The application developed had the Clintons behind it. It had voter names and addresses and identified whether or not they were Democrats. The Clinton campaign actually told people where to go to vote. If you recall many of the Bernie voters were misdirected and also they were scrubbed from the registration rolls or had their registrations switched. Seth was a Bernie supporter — yet he was asked to go work for the Clinton campaign just days before he was killed. What do you think? Did he decide to turn down the job and do the right thing instead? Bernie endorsed Hillary the very next day after Seth was killed.

The NGP-VAN database was at the heart of the VEP (it was called by NGP’s CEO the “Democratic data nerve center”) and Seth worked closely with their staff. Do you remember the Sanders campaign staffer Josh Uretsky being (falsely) accused of hacking Clinton campaign files when there was a software glitch? Debbie Wasserman Schultz (very publicly, on TV) denied the Sanders campaign access for a day, and they sued (the suit was later dropped and it came out the charge against the campaign was false.) It has emerged that the NGP VAN database, a tool used by almost every Democratic political campaign and which certainly was used by Sanders, included information such as to whom a voter has donated, and other highly specific references to candidates. Arizona election integrity activist John Brakey, co-founder of AUDIT-AZ, “Americans United for Democracy, Integrity, and Transparency in Elections,” said in an email:

“They know if you like anchovies or not. What magazines you’re reading and more.”

Brakey said the NGP VAN would certainly contain information which could be used to target likely Sanders voters in voting list purges.

Cherry picking the data to establish a conclusion is not how you find truth. There is no hard evidence produced to backup the claim Rich sent those emails. One of the sources withdrew its story about Rich’s murder and his connection to Wikileaks:

Among places the author of the story publish is a blog called “The Duran” which seems nothing but a Russian propaganda website. Click on some of the links in the story, they’ll somehow connect to Alex Jones or Breitbart type alt-right related websites.

Tom

May 24, 2017 at 18:45

Pretty ironic that you are talking about “hard evidence” but yet probably fully believe that Trump colluded with the Russians and obstructed justice…with no hard evidence to prove either.

backwardsevolution

May 18, 2017 at 01:28

IMO, the Republicans are just as bad as the Democrats. They are two monsters with one head. The Congressmen and Senators are not interested in the people, just their own pocketbooks. Corruption everywhere, insider trading, staggering federal debt, and the threat of nuclear war.

The Deep State are crushing Trump and many are cheering this on. They’re setting him up as an example. After seeing what Trump has to go through on a daily basis, the lies, the threat of impeachment, the long hours, Russia-gate, tell me what other non-politician will ever – ever – want to take the job of President on in the future? Who would put their family through that? They are making sure that everyone witnesses what happens when someone other than one of their own members gets elected. What other person would put up with this? Who could bare it? Could you?

Look what they did to JFK, and he was a seasoned politician. Bobby Kennedy. Martin Luther King.

I hope everyone on this site realizes just what is at stake. Before you applaud the demise of Trump, consider the list of “fake news” sites that Consortium News got put on. This is just the beginning. If you let them get away with this type of behavior, you will regret it in time because you will lose everything.

Trump is trying to drain the swamp. Help him. These are not good people.

Sam F

May 18, 2017 at 12:03

Yes, it is very strange to be forced into qualified support of Trump, but any instability in the corruption capital of the world is good, if only in revealing to the people the nearly complete extent and depth of government corruption.

Having much experience with standing for humanity against local, state, and federal corruption, I can verify that few would accept the risks, complexity, and labor, and perhaps none who well knew in advance of the danger and frustration of frequent shipwrecks upon barriers of corruption. Fortunately some fight on as I do on a small scale, and some pick up the torch of the fallen.

Revenge against erstwhile obscure persons like Seth Rich is trivial for the oligarchy of gangsters, but revenge against public figures is more dangerous. So Trump could still drain the swamp if he organizes sympathizers, but that was needed long before election. The party will lead regardless of politician promises, and both the Dems and Reps are merely gangs led by the rich.

dana

May 17, 2017 at 23:11

The DNC won’t be able to run an electable candidate until they do away with super delegates. The super delegates pledged to vote for Hillary before any other democratic candidates decided to run. Whenever Hillary’s totals were reported, the super delegates were always included in the totals to make it appear she’s already won. Very deceptive and designed to influence the outcome of the election.

david thurman

May 17, 2017 at 22:31

Fox ‘Faux’ News, Really, Really? “reportedly telling Fox News that the slain employee sent WikiLeaks more than 40,000 emails and 17,000 attachments”; and you think that is reliable, reputable source??

Hey, I agree that the DNC treated Bernie very badly … had many operators in positions of power at the DNC (e.g. Debbie Wasserman-Schultz) not insisted upon Hillary being the nominee, allowing the primaries to play out fairly, Bernie would have likely been the democratic party nominee. I have heard many dem pols, i.e. Jon Lovettz, Jon Favaru, opine that had it been Bernie v. tRump Bernie would have won > that is also my opinion … I think it was a huge mistake to not respect the momentum Bernie’s candidacy exhibited. People who say, “The dem’s got what they deserved,” have a point. But relying on Fox for reliable news is like looking to our current president to tell the truth!

backwardsevolution

May 17, 2017 at 23:27

david thurman – well, Fox News is at least as reputable as CNN, NBC, ABC, the New York Times, and the Washington Post, who have both turned into the National Enquirer in order to get more readers. At the recent Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Russian interference, a few senators were actually tendering articles from the Washington Post and the New York Times as exhibits. I nearly fell off my chair laughing. “An anonymous source said…an anonymous source said…an anonymous source said…” and on and on. That’s all they do, make up stories.

One recent story from one of the rag newspapers was that Comey apparently said he didn’t have enough staff for the Russian investigation, but Andrew McCabe, who is filling in for the fired Comey, said, no, they had adequate staff. Another story said that Rod Rosenstein was going to resign over something Trump said. Nope, just made-up lies.

The author of this article, Joe Lauria, at least gave the other side, though:

“There also has been pushback against the Fox reports. NBC News cited a current FBI official and a former one denying that “an FBI analysis of a computer belonging to Rich contained thousands of e-mails to and from WikiLeaks. Local police in Washington, D.C., never even gave the FBI Rich’s laptop to analyze after his murder, according to the current FBI official. And a former law enforcement official with first-hand knowledge of Rich’s laptop said the claim was incorrect.”

Let’s just bring out the laptop, wherever it is, and have a look. What is the hold-up?

backwardsevolution

May 18, 2017 at 01:07

david thurman – besides, Fox News is probably the only outlet that will give Assange any media coverage. The other media outlets are not talking about Seth Rich at all. They’re just ignoring it. So it might just be Fox for the simple reason that no one else will touch it.

Skip Scott

May 18, 2017 at 12:10

Hi David-

I too have long thought of Fox as a ridiculous source for news; sensationalist, right wing, sexist, GOP mouthpiece, etc. etc. I don’t know much about this detective, and he seems a bit shady to me. That said, I’ve checked out a few links to Tucker Carlson’s show, and find him pretty interesting, especially with this whole Russia-gate BS. And Seth Rich’s murder is suspicious, to say the least. There are a lot of other reasons to suspect him as the source for the DNC email releases. To have him wind up dead, and have nobody seem to know where the laptop is- you’ve got to admit it looks like something more than a botched robbery. All the other major networks carry water for the Deep State unquestioningly. Although I have a long history of hating Fox news, I have to say recently they’ve improved (at least some of their programming). I don’t get any news other than local from the TV anymore, I just check out the occasional link on the web.

akech

May 18, 2017 at 12:46

David Brock “CORRECT THE RECORD” gangs have already ascended on this website; viciously attacking regular commentators and labeling them as conspiracy theorists!

They are trying to insinuate that other people with point of views different from their “Jim Jones like cult ” views must be some unformed imbeciles who needs to be intellectually lectured to and sheep-dogged back into their fold; should the sheep fail to comply, they must be discredited through vicious attacks, destroyed and/or have their webpages blocked by the big brother paying them!

The opinionated shills seem to forget that, now, there is no daylight between MSM :(CNN, NBC, MSNBC, CBS, ABC, BBC, and other DNC establishment affiliated websites) and National Inquirer!

The hired shills are going after regular American citizens by trying to mold how they must view what is happening and think; and attacking them if they try to resist; this is scary Folks!

NOTE: Jim Jones cult members were brainwashed into killing themselves by drinking poison, prepared by Jim Jones himself, in some remote region in Guyana. There are some similarities to what happened in Jonestown, Guyana and what MSM is trying to do with thought processes of the regular, powerless American public: “do not question what we are telling you because we own the truth”!

In case my view is over the top, can someone explain why there is censorship?

Julian Assange who was almost broke was rescued by RT and worked for them for two years before ending up in political asylum in an embassy. That much is fact and is easily checked out. Where is Assange getting the money he is offering for the
the capture of Seth Rich. To use Fox News for a source must mean they are not part of the MSM. Oh maybe Hillary is sponsoring the reward.

On DFH1 objections to airing this, which isn’t conspiracy but is speculation, as Realist says, how else will this get discussed, if not through Internet? How many of us have time or money to hit the Senate chambers to scream our objections to this continual nonsense, aired day after day in lieu of any of the real business that should be attended to? And the NSA keeps all records of these articles and comments, to see how we fall in line or don’t. The Rich case could be one of the pivotal points to break this madness out into the open. Other websites are discussing it, too. Hopefully, Wikileaks will let more known to get this into the open. This government has gone berserk.

Libby

May 18, 2017 at 01:52

Not sure how a person who seems to be a Democrat can cry out about speculation, sloppy/shoddy reporting or conspiracy theories?

F. G. Sanford

May 17, 2017 at 19:29

Armed robbers don’t shoot in the back. And leakers don’t usually hack.
Ray McGovern and Binney have summed up the skinny, this wasn’t a Russian attack.
Rod Wheeler talks media shop. He’s flamboyant, an ex-DC cop.
Cell phones that rove are a real treasure trove, but who’s really got the laptop?
A drive-by might explain a lot. But the cops claim it’s certainly not.
Bullet hole traces and phone databases seem largely dismissed from the plot.
Did a coroner write off a hit, or did autopsy doctors acquit?
Did they rush to cremate so the shooter would skate, or did homicide simply remit?
If the Feds haven’t claimed jurisdiction, then the laptop location is fiction.
If there’s no prosecutor, then where’s the computer? Are they scared of a murder conviction?
Certain bodies keep turning up dead. But statistics don’t offer a shred.
Conjecture still mounts as suspicion recounts, but the Democrats still look ahead.
It’s not a good plan to look backward. Impeachment might be an attack word.
It’s not on the table if war crime’s a fable, that torture report was absurd!
The DNC wants hope an change. It’s a prospect they wouldn’t shortchange.
To rig a primary would just be too scary, and a crime they just couldn’t arrange!
The NSA knows all the details. They copy down all of our emails.
They maintain suspense for the deep state’s defense, while the rest of us just bite our nails!
Now Hillary’s down in the dumps. That campaign trail was loaded with bumps.
She’s not a sore loser or big booze abuser, the guilt then can only be Trump’s!
All those rumors have certainly cost her. It’s no doubt they have served to exhaust her,
Preposterous claims with nefarious aims like that suicide blamed on Vince Foster!
The gun was not found at the scene. But the wallet and watch were pristine.
If the motive was theft, then why were they left, it’s feast made of tabloid cuisine!
The cops still insist on a robber. There’s no doubt that the tale is macabre.
If we asked Keith Ellis I’m sure he would tell us, conspiracy theory is slobber!
That explains the whole Seth Rich attack. He shot himself several times in the back.
Some crook stole the gun, he took off on the run, now poor Hillary’s blamed for the whack!

backwardsevolution

May 17, 2017 at 21:03

F. G. Sanford – masterful job – again! So well done. Thank you for summing it all up in such a poetic way.

Shannon Raintree

May 17, 2017 at 18:56

Good piece, but PLEASE explain such inconsistencies as:

“Rich’s parents also have blasted the reports of their son’s possible involvement with WikiLeaks. “As we’ve seen through the past year of unsubstantiated claims, we see no facts, we have seen no evidence, we have been approached with no emails and only learned about this when contacted by the press,” Rich’s family said in a statement.”

then later…

“While the Seth Rich murder case remains unsolved, a private detective hired by Rich’s family has spoken out, saying there is evidence on Seth Rich’s computer indicating that he was in touch with WikiLeaks.”

They are either blasting the news, in which case they don’t believe their own investigator, or, what? Grr.

Zachary Smith

May 17, 2017 at 19:16

The family may be a pawn of the DNC and others, and they could also be getting yanked around.

“Detective Wheeler said Rich’s parents seem genuinely concerned about finding out who murdered their son. However, he believes their disregard for the possibility that Rich’s death may be related to leaked emails and his line of work at the DNC is alarmingly conspicuous.

“Seth’s brother said to me, ‘Rod, we do not want you to look at this aspect of the emails.’

And I asked him, ‘Do you want the case solved? You cannot tell a detective, ‘Don’t look at certain things.’

[If] you want to solve the case, that detective is going to look at everything.”

Wheeler continued: “I don’t know the reason why they pushed back so much on the whole idea of the emails. I think they may think that if that information gets out, it may taint Seth’s legacy. I am just speculating. Why would they even care? As long as the bad guy is caught, does it matter how it happens?

“I don’t know what the reason is; it’s peculiar. If it were my loved one, I wouldn’t care about the legacy. Let’s catch the bad guy. We’ll worry about the legacy later.”

Yep, this is what I’ve gathered from the few quotes I’ve seen from the father. He appears unable to contemplate (does not want to hear it) that his son may have leaked the emails. He just won’t go there. This is a father in denial. He’s probably supported the Democratic Party his whole life, and his world was probably very safe and secure. As soon as he starts thinking emails, leaked emails, leaked DNC emails from my son, Wikileaks, murder, robbery suspected but no contents taken, he has got to eventually start thinking about what Wikileaks has said, the reward money they’re offering, about who has the laptop, about the DNC.

I tell you, if that father ever starts to have those thoughts, he is going to explode. In his heart, he probably suspects, but he can’t let himself go there because he’s afraid of what he might find out, afraid of what he’ll do. I know if it was my child, you would have heard from me long ago and I wouldn’t stop until I got answers. And then once I got them, well…..hold me back!

Why the heck is the DNC still involved with these parents?

Sunset

May 17, 2017 at 21:42

Thanks, Backwardsevolution.

Seth’s parents said he was “idealistic.” You’re right; they can’t consider this possibility right now. Still, I hope they know there are many who would applaud him if so.

Joe Lauria

May 18, 2017 at 03:49

The family say they had an agreement with the investigator that he not speak publicly about the case, which they now say he’s violated. “The services of the private investigator who spoke to press was offered to the Rich family and paid for by a third party, and contractually was barred from speaking to press or anyone outside of law enforcement or the family unless explicitly authorized by the family,” they said in their statement.

“Rich’s parents also have blasted the reports of their son’s possible involvement with WikiLeaks. “As we’ve seen through the past year of unsubstantiated claims, we see no facts, we have seen no evidence, we have been approached with no emails and only learned about this when contacted by the press,” Rich’s family said in a statement.” Which might only mean that Seth cared about directing negative attention toward his family.

backwardsevolution

May 17, 2017 at 18:07

Arby – Seth Rich appeared to be very patriotic, didn’t he? I’ve seen pictures of him wearing red, white and blue, stars and stripes. His father said Seth was idealistic, wanted to change the world. His family was probably very patriotic too; that’s where he would have learned it. I’ve read a few statements from the father where (if they are accurate quotes) he states that his son wouldn’t have leaked documents.

If Seth Rich is the leaker, it could be he was trying to protect his family, or it could be something that would be frowned upon by his family, something that would be considered unpatriotic. I guess we’ll know in time. He seemed like a nice young man, though. It’s a shame what happened to him.

backwardsevolution

May 17, 2017 at 18:17

Can you imagine a mother and father first of all wrapping their patriotic minds around the fact that their son might have been the person responsible for the leaked emails?

If this is proven correct, then further imagine this mother and father, who are no doubt hurting terribly, then having to wrap their minds around the fact that he may have been murdered for what he did? And probably by the very party and people these parents had supported their whole lives?

Sunset

May 17, 2017 at 18:35

Seth’s parents should be so proud. If he was the DNC leaker, he was a man of conscience. He will always be respected and appreciated by most of us who comment on this site. We need whistleblowers like …whoever it was.

backwardsevolution

May 17, 2017 at 21:01

Sunset – see my post below.

backwardsevolution

May 17, 2017 at 17:30

“During May 3 Senate testimony, Comey said one reason he recommended against a Justice Department prosecution of Clinton was that she lacked criminal “intent” when setting up the private email server that was used to transmit some classified information.

“Federal law is clear regarding classified materials: intent is not relevant [to mishandling classified information],” the White House official said.”

All that matters is that there “was” mishandling of classified information. “Intent” is not a factor to be considered.

“The president was said to be upset that Comey had granted concessions to witnesses in the email probe that undermined its integrity, the officials said.

For example, two key witnesses, Clinton aides Cheryl Mills and Heather Samuelson, were granted immunity from prosecution. The immunity deals limited searches for evidence and required the FBI to destroy their laptop computers after the computers were searched, potentially eliminating evidence.

Also, FBI questioning of Clinton took place without her being placed under oath and without being recorded, preventing a transcript of the interview from being produced.”

Wow! Say no more.

“FBI agents investigating the Clinton email server were upset by Comey’s intervention in the probe. “They were seething with anger [at Comey],” said an administration source with direct knowledge of some case agents’ views.

In addition to Comey’s comments on Clinton’s intentions, “the sheer number of immunities granted during the case and destruction of laptops made it clear that his position was untenable,” said the White House official. “Add the low morale inside the FBI and the firing was unavoidable.”

McCabe, the acting FBI chief, challenged reports that FBI agents were angry at Comey. He said the “vast majority” of FBI employees felt positively toward the director.”

DFH1 – I think with Jeff Sessions and Rod Rosenstein at the Attorney-General Office, and with a good Comey replacement and the firing of Andrew McCabe, facts might start surfacing rather quickly. Wikileaks doesn’t go around offering rewards for nothing. Let’s see Seth Rich’s laptop. If there’s nothing there, then I owe you one. :)

One good thing is that they can, I think, retrieve all of Hillary’s erased emails through the NSA. As I understand it, they would still have them.

John

May 17, 2017 at 23:10

Problem with the BAD retrieving the lost emails sent from Rich’ s computer is that the NEW is likely to side with the liberals and bury these rather than bring them to light. Trump would have to find a very astute person to head the NSA in order to break this info away from the deep state operatives in that agency.

John

May 17, 2017 at 23:12

My spell check turned NSA into BAD. Sorry.

John

May 17, 2017 at 23:15

Goddamn machine “corrects” half the words I type. BAD and NEW should be NSA. Sorry about the screwup guys.

backwardsevolution

May 18, 2017 at 00:36

John – sometimes computers aren’t easier, are they? LOL Michael Rogers is head of the NSA right now, appointed by Obama. James Clapper and Ashton Carter recommended his dismissal in November of 2016. What do you think of Michael Rogers? Part of the Deep State or what?

Apparently Mike Rogers approached Trump, and that’s never been done before. Do you trust him?

DFH1

May 17, 2017 at 16:08

I cannot believe the depths to which this once laudable site has fallen. To be providing an outlet for conspiracy theory that a first year journalism could easily see was full of holes is beyond irresponsible, especially by a site that once held a solid reputation for good reporting. But, this is not the sort of reporting that won Robert Perry accolades in the past. It reaches the level of reporting seen at Brietbart, or perhaps the National Enquirer, but it certainly doesn’t meet the criteria for anything that could call itself journalism.

I think it might be fair to mention, for example, that the private detective quoted was not directly employed by Rich’s family, and doesn’t appear to have had any direct contact with them. Furthermore, this detective has a rather chequered history of conspiracy theorizing himself, most notably when he claimed, on Bill O’Reilly’s show, that a national organized network of armed lesbians was raping young girls.

You have one sketchy private investigator and a boatload of Right Wing conspiracy theory promoting a story for which there is not one ounce of information that would lead any competent person to find it believable.

This site has become an embarrassment.

backwardsevolution

May 17, 2017 at 16:44

DFH1 – when facts are not brought out into the open, people begin speculating. What else can they do? The FBI doesn’t investigate Hillary Clinton’s servers, leaving it up to Crowdstrike? Why? Hillary deletes thousands of emails, uses Bleach Bit, has her hard drives destroyed. Yeah, that’s something that an innocent person does, isn’t it? NOT. No subpoenas are issued, witnesses are given immunity, no Grand Jury, no follow-up interviews. What?

Loretta Lynch just happens to coincidentally (NOT) run into Bill Clinton on an Arizona tarmac and, surprise, surprise, she has to recuse herself from the case. There is a procedure at the Attorney-General’s Office whereby others could have filled Lynch’s duties, but, no, Comey steps in and pronounces Hillary’s actions weren’t intentional. That’s not his job! His job is to present the evidence the FBI comes up with to the Attorney-General’s Office.

This isn’t conspiracy. All of this actually happened and all of it stinks to high Heaven.

So looking at the above facts, how is it that we’ve fallen? Are you sure that the falling hasn’t occurred elsewhere?

Realist

May 17, 2017 at 18:40

A simple application of Occam’s Razor to the two proffered scenarios

(#1. That Russia, which purportedly hated frontrunner Hillary and loved vast underdog Trump and were actually in cahoots with his long-shot candidacy and cared not a whit about offending likely winner Hillary, hacked the DNC, provided the emails to Wikileaks, and thereby stole the election because the voters, who avidly read everything put out by Wikileaks especially the fake stuff, didn’t like what they read and abandoned Hillary, even as James Comey tried his best to prop her up… or was it take her down?) or

(#2. That a disgruntled Democratic operative with access to the emails leaked them directly to Wikileaks, since there was enough in there to make anyone with a conscience angry, which were mostly ignored by the public which decided their vote on numerous other grounds.)

dictates that the simpler, less convoluted and contrived scenario (#2) is most likely the correct one. Moreover, every player in this grand charade has a public track record as to what blather they routinely exude and what principles they are known to betray. So, which was more likely? lying Hillary being lying Hillary? Or, the allegedly sneaky risk taker Putin being Hillary’s convenient fall guy? How would a hyper cautious pragmatist such as Putin risk so much to gain such an unlikely advantage? What bizarre risk/benefit formula did he suddenly decide to embrace, so at odds with his established character? You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes or Mr. Spock to analyse this no-brainer.

BannanaBoat

May 17, 2017 at 17:37

If one wants to discredit a narrative counter to ones ideology one labels it a conspiracy theory. There is more factual plausablity in Seth being the leaker than the factually devoid conspiracy theory that Russia hacked the DNC.

Sam F

May 18, 2017 at 11:12

Exactly. And if it were not Rich, there are other leaker scenarios more plausible than the completely unsupported Russiagate conspiracy theory, which (even if it were true) is plainly a diversion from the now-well-proven Israelgate conspiracy and other DNC betrayals.

Finally, a conspiracy to reveal political party conspiracy is a good conspiracy, while the Israelgate conspiracy, and other bribes to take over the Dems and Reps with money and to deceive their supporters, is a bad conspiracy.

Let us have constitutional amendments to restrict mass media and election funding to limited individual donations, and public custody of political party financial records and emails (after democracy is restored).

Marko

May 17, 2017 at 17:46

” You have one sketchy private investigator and a boatload of Right Wing conspiracy theory promoting a story for which there is not one ounce of information that would lead any competent person to find it believable.”

Not one ounce ? Really ?

Let’s see , who actually knows , without doubt , who the leaker was ? Yes , that would be Julian Assange , probably the most trusted journalist on the globe when it comes to providing carefully-vetted and truthful information. And what does Mr. Assange suggest we read about Mr. Rich , given that he is hamstrung by Wikileak’s policy of not revealing sources and can’t therefore comment directly ? Quoting Joe Lauria ,above :

“…Julian Assange, WikiLeak’s founder and publisher, on Tuesday morning retweeted the Fox5 News report citing the new developments in the murder mystery. ”

Tell your paymasters the damage control isn’t working , Dongfanghong-1 . Tell them they better get going with Plan B , soon.

DFH1

May 17, 2017 at 18:37

Where else, but in the fever swamps that give birth to conspiracy theories that used to be limited to the RW fringe sites, could a retweet be considered to be evidence?

Tomk

May 17, 2017 at 21:58

The fact is people like you don’t want an investigation that will show this “Russia did it” lie is a cover up for Clinton and the DNC rigging the election and the Press trying to put Clinton into office as if they were an adjunct to the DNC, an outrage for a “free” society but totally ignored by the use of the “Russia did it” lie–the workings of totalitarianism 21st Century style on the rubes– all their efforts to get the despicable Clinton in didn’t fly — so “Russia did it” to correct the “problem”….Yes, let’s not find out who did leak the disgusting emails –better to go with the phony “Russia did it” lies that may lead to WWIII and nuclear war….A total crock created by the DNC and enabled thereafter by Obama and his “intelligence” hacks–Brennan, Clapper and a big assist from Comey–all of which should be under investigation now not Trump….We heard “17 Intelligence agencies agreed….” ad nauseum to shut up all critics from the Gobalist Press–now Clapper has to admit it was a total lie–that he, Brennan and Comey “handpicked” the hacks who then agreed with the total shoddy work of Crowdstike, the company the DNC “handpicked” to come up with the “trail” to Russia–a “trail” we now know any hacker could lay down, much less the CIA, and that Crowdstike was totally biased as to Russia given who is involved there–None of this gets any play in the Globalist Corporate lying Press–that is where your “conspiracy theory” is pushed by Deep State criminals–get a clue we are seeing a silent coup against the lawfully elected President of the United States and our “free” Press is doing all it can do to abet it–6 Corporations owning it all and colluding against the National Interests of every citizen not in on their scam….If these criminals pull this blatant mockery of justice off many of those in full support because they hate Trump will regret same in the not too distant future when it turns and bites them on the ass, badly….

Zachary Smith

May 17, 2017 at 18:27

You certainly have a lot of objections, but for some reason chose to keep them vague and blurry.

turk151

May 18, 2017 at 01:21

He called us a conspiracy theorist, oh the shame, what will they say about us at the country club?

I am looking forward to when the linguistic weapon loses it’s luster and we become functioning, vigilent citizens again.

Skip Scott

May 18, 2017 at 07:27

Hillary, is that you?

Stiv

May 19, 2017 at 14:55

I agree 100% The clowns that now inhabit this place are beyond reason. Sure, Seth sent thousands of emails to Wiki. LOL! If he did that, he was stupid beyond belief. Whatever happened to the Flashdrive? At least that was plausible. But, hey…it was reported on Fox! LOL! Right wing conspiracy nutcases can’t keep things straight.

There was a article in the NYT ( that will get some hackles up here) which very succinctly outlines what we’re seeing here. PIzzagate! LOL!

My embarrassment is in giving this site money to proliferate “Fake News”. There you are, Robert….your favorite topic.

Won’t be buying your book Lauria, based on this “article”.

Realist

May 17, 2017 at 15:43

When the truth finally comes out, I have to wonder still: will the perpetrators ever be prosecuted? What if the facts ultimately lead to Hillary Clinton’s front door? Will they impeach Trump just to spare her?

backwardsevolution

May 17, 2017 at 16:32

Realist – “Will they impeach Trump just to spare her?” Looks like they’re trying hard to do just that, but I don’t think it’s going to happen. Trump needs to get rid of Andrew McCabe, Acting Director of the FBI. That guy has too many ties to the Clinton’s. I’d get rid of him ASAP. Trump needs to be very careful who he puts in this new position.

Jeff Sessions and Rod Rosenstein need to begin going after Clinton (if they aren’t already). Shut her down. The FBI don’t even investigate her servers? Yeah, in what world does that ever happen?

Something stinks. Let’s see what’s on Seth Rich’s laptop. Who has it? They need to get to the bottom of this right now.

Joe Tedesky

May 17, 2017 at 23:07

I think Trump getting rid of McCabe would be a little much since after the way it went down after he fired Comey. I also wouldn’t look towards the FBI going after Clinton, especially under any suspension over the Seth Rich murder. I would suspect that if the Rich murder is to be solved, and if it leads back to Hillary and the DNC then that mystery will be solved outside of the Federal governments apparatuses.

I also feel that for now the Neocon’s need Russia as a convenient patsy for all things military, and all things hegemonic in nature. So in the minds of the sicko warmongering elite we need to keep Russia just where we think we have them for now. Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia and Israel should be most interesting as to see what develops from it. I would imagine that Russia’s alliance with Syria, and especially with Iran, will be a major topic among the U.S., Israel, and Saudi Arabia meetings.

The best we could all hope for, if I understand this Rich mystery rightly, is that Seth’s laptop will show investigators just what Seth was up to. I wouldn’t beat up on Assange too much, since Wikileaks needs to keep the bar high in regard to it’s anonymity assurances, in order to continue with the quality of it’s reporting it has established here to date. The best thing the Rich investigation needs is publicity, and with that I will thank Joe Lauria for his find reporting, and for his keeping this story alive.

backwardsevolution

May 18, 2017 at 01:02

Joe – you’re such a nice fellow! You’re probably right, but the way I look at it, sometimes you’ve just got to rip off the Band-Aid in one fell swoop. Sam F from this site has mentioned a few times that Trump should have come out swinging on his first day if he wanted to drain the swamp. I think he’s right. The media aren’t going to slack off on Trump, no matter what he does. I would not trust that Andrew McCabe. I think he and Comey were a dangerous mix in the top positions of the FBI.

The problem was, as Paul Craig Roberts pointed out, that Trump didn’t know his way around Washington, didn’t know the players, didn’t know who to trust. As Mr. Roberts said, you’ve got to get insiders who know their way around, but finding people who you can trust, you aren’t part of the Deep State, is another matter altogether. Lots of piranha lurking around, but not many people dedicated to the American people.

And you’re right about Wikileaks. His sources must remain anonymous, dead or alive. Thanks, Joe.

Bill Bodden

May 17, 2017 at 17:49

When the truth finally comes out, I have to wonder still: will the perpetrators ever be prosecuted?

Of course they will. Doncha remember Obama telling us no one is above the law and your Mom explaining the tooth fairy left that dime under your pillow?

Joe Tedesky

May 17, 2017 at 15:05

Why did Hillary have the option to instead allow the FBI access to her computer, that she have Crowd-Strike who is affiliated with the Atlantic Council do this task? I didn’t know a suspect of a crime had such rights, as to do what Hillary did…go figure! I can just see defense attorneys from all across this nation who represent drug dealers right now pursuing this path that Hillary made for them by their attempting to attain this option for their clients, as I also can see the FBI refusing this option to any others who wish to do what Hillary successfully did. Besides all that, does this not make Hillary at least look suspicious, if not guilty?

The Rich family has been through a lot, so I could understand their disagreeing with the allegations made of Seth’s computer having communicated with Wikileaks, as this grief stricken family respectfully needs their space to heal their broken hearts from the loss of their son and brother. In fact, if Seth did keep his communicating with Julian Assange a secret, then the family would be of no use to any investigation.

I feel that pursuing the unsolved murder of Seth Rich no matter who did it, should be a priority. In addition to investigating a homicide, since Seth Rich did work for the DNC and we all know that Wikileaks received information from the DNC, then why would it not be reasonable to see where Seth was inside of all this information skulduggery. Don’t forget Craig Murray swears he met with two different insiders who gave him the Wikileaks information we all know about today.

Lastly, after all this time, why do we Americans still believe the Clinton’s tell the truth?

Joe Lauria

May 17, 2017 at 15:16

I think you are confusing the DNC computer server and her own private server in her home.

Joe Tedesky

May 17, 2017 at 15:33

You are right, and I apologize for doing that, but in many ways I see Hillary’s deceitful actions as all being poured into the same bucket.

Whether we are talking about the security breach of Hillary having her own servers, or we are speaking too the DNC computer being purged of information, I always come back to Hillary’s involvement.

Although, since we are discussing the murder of Seth Rich I will try and contain myself to what Seth had access too. Thanks for getting me back on track.

A leak is much more creditable then a hack by Russia. Most of the MSM has been quiet about this story and pushed the story of Trump interfering in FBI investigation. Obviously the Military Complex wants to blame Russia to demonize them as the enemy.

Exiled off mainstreet

May 17, 2017 at 14:37

Wheeler’s interview with Hannity was very convincing, as is the federal investigator who, in light of the story’s obvious danger to the Russian conspiracy narrative ginned up by the deep state elements wishes to remain anonymous. Since the story indicates possible FBI collusion in a coverup, Comey’s situation looks quite precarious if Trump should manage to get a responsible director in place.

Tomk

May 17, 2017 at 14:37

With Seth Rich dead Wikileaks should come out and state explicitly if he was the source or not — to state they are “protecting” a source who may have been murdered for leaking to them by not revealing this now is not obviously not helpful to him or the world which is being put on a course for WWIII due to this lie by the DNC and Obama’s “intelligence” hacks and the Globalist media and their masters that want war with Russia….The situation is too serious for them to keep silent on this now….A disservice over any service they have previously rendered by their work….

FobosDeimos

May 17, 2017 at 15:37

Good comment! I agree. There is no reason for Wikileaks to keep silent on this. Of course, the revelation that a whistleblower may have been assassinated in cold blood in the streets of Washington DC would spread fear among other potential whistleblowers, but I think that it is Wikileaks’ duty to be open about this.

uncle fester

May 19, 2017 at 18:12

when seth rich was murdered there was very little reaction from the DNC. and given their track record ,why wasn’t it used to push gun control? and what about Shawn Lucas?

Adrian Engler

May 17, 2017 at 16:01

It might be that Wikileaks is just very strict about protecting sources (then, of course, one can say that this protection does not really help a person who is not alive any more), but I think the fact that Wikileaks has not clearly stated the murder victim was their source (although they hinted at the relevance of the case) could mean that Seth Rich is not the main or the only source or they don’t know it for certain (they may have received the material indirectly).

Peter P

May 17, 2017 at 18:23

Wikileaks obviously has a set in stone policy to not name sources. However this case with Mr Rich sadly deceased and the critical issues riding on it, could well be the exception to the rule. To openly name Seth Rich as the source at this stage would send a message of protection to future Wikileaks whistleblowers.

Libby

May 18, 2017 at 00:51

I believe that the Wikileaks policy of not naming sources is part of their foundational articles.

backwardsevolution

May 18, 2017 at 04:49

Peter P – how about in the case of a kidnapping, and the ransom is to divulge who your source is. If you give up your source for any reason, someone will use that against you in the future. Best to keep it anonymous.

backwardsevolution

May 17, 2017 at 16:20

Tomk – I’m hoping the new Director of the FBI (if Trump chooses wisely) will begin looking into this. As well, I’m sure that the Attorney-General’s office will be on top of this. Time to turn this thing around and start going on the offensive.

Bill Bodden

May 17, 2017 at 16:37

I’m hoping the new Director of the FBI (if Trump chooses wisely) will begin looking into this….

Lotsaluck on that one, backwards. I saw a rogues galley of candidates on television recently and just heard Joe Lieberman is now on the list of interviewees. Then there is Jeff Sessions who will play a prominent, if not dominant, role in who replaces Comey.

Bill Bodden

May 17, 2017 at 18:40

Lotsaluck on that one, backwards.

With the appointment of Robert Mueller as special counsel we might have gotten lucky. Time will tell.

Bill Bodden

May 17, 2017 at 18:47

Counterpunch has several articles that mention Robert Mueller. Use the site’s search box for “robert mueller”

Bill Bodden

May 17, 2017 at 22:21

“Special Counsel Investigating Trump Campaign Has Deep Ties to the Deep State

“Former FBI agent and 9/11 whistleblower Coleen Rowley says former FBI head Robert Mueller, now appointed to investigate the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia, participated in covering up the pre 9/11 role of the U.S. intelligence agencies and the Bush Administration, helped create the post 9/11 national security/surveillance state, and helped facilitate the pre-Iraq war propaganda machine” – http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=19120

backwardsevolution

May 18, 2017 at 04:45

Bill Bodden – thank you. Mueller sounds like more of the same.

It appears that half the country is unhappy with the swamp and wants it drained, and the other half is quite happy with the swamp and wants it maintained. It all depends on where you sit and how you benefit.

That’s not a healthy ratio.

Sunset

May 17, 2017 at 18:19

Remember the Guccifer2 emails to his girlfriend saying his DNC leak contact was Seth.

KimiKN

May 18, 2017 at 19:31

Exactly. No one will be injured or put at risk if Seth actually did provide the leaks and Wikileals revealed it. It would only serve to alert the world that something stinks in Washinton and steer this country away from the abyss.

arnold oliver

May 17, 2017 at 14:37

Dear Mr. Lauria –
You wrote, “WikiLeaks published thousands of Democratic Party emails which showed the Democratic National Committee violated its own charter that pledges neutrality by working for Hillary Clinton against her primary challenger, Sen. Bernie Sanders.”
I am a very strong Bernie supporter. It seems to me that the DNC emails do show that there was some favoritism toward HRC, BUT not to any great degree. Why didn’t Bernie protest loudly? Perhaps because the DNC finger on the scale was not sufficient to affect the outcome very much.
If you can show me evidence from the emails of a major HRC tilt by the DNC, I’ll be glad to read it carefully.
But I have not seen such evidence so far.

Exiled off mainstreet

May 17, 2017 at 14:42

Sanders didn’t complain much because, based on his later record of collaboration, it did not seem to bother him that much that he was robbed of the nomination. He was too much a loyal foot soldier for it to matter that much to him, as is corroborated by his propagation of the dangerous, seditious Russia complicity narrative of the exposure of this information. Bottom line is that Sanders lost any credibility he may have had as a force for positive change by his loyal servitude to the deep state in all of these matters.

Economyst

May 19, 2017 at 01:51

I don’t think it’s servitude. I think it’s recognition that the U.S. is a 2-party system, and that our only chance to “take America back” is through the Democratic Party, going back to its New Deal roots. Bernie is *still* trying to turn the Democratic Party around. The DNC & Dem Establishment will have none of it.

Hopefully the Seth Rich murder case will help Democrats realize that the Establishments of both parties are rotten to the core, and need to be replaced.

Jake G

May 17, 2017 at 14:43

He didnt object because he had deals running with HRC already which he wanted to see happening. No, nothing bad, actually quite some nice things for the American people.

akech

May 17, 2017 at 15:11

Bernie Sanders did not protest the rigging of votes because he was and still is a LEAD SHEEP DOG for DNC establishment! Keith Ellis is now an ASSOCIATE sheepdog!

This is how the DNC voter drives are carried out, through dedicated paid sheep dogs!

Sanders the fake. Good riddance. Yes, He would have been better than his colleague Hillary and better than the swamp much with orange weeds on it. Maybe. Because Sanders was ‘not’ anti-establishment. He was, is, a con artist. And the military/intelligence/security-industrial complex would be pleased to have him wear the crown in American.

cmack

May 18, 2017 at 09:13

i read emails that seemed to confirm as much at the time from wikileaks. don’t have links to them now. but…didn’t debbie washerwoman schultz have to step down for said collusion? seems to me i read that somewhere too. (sarcasm)

look, bernie was not a democrat. he was hired, if you will, to serve as a poll leader to “energize the base”. it’s political campaign 101 stuff. he was never in it to win it. if he was actually the principled politician he claimed to be, he would have never, ever endorsed hillary.

ron paul never endorsed a bush…..that’s a principled politician

Paul G.

May 18, 2017 at 11:35

Good comment on Ron Paul, he has integrity and he is good on foreign policy; too bad his economics is off the wall.

Economyst

May 19, 2017 at 02:00

Sanders tried to take over the Dem Party and damn near did it. The entire DNC hated him, because he threatened their cushy jobs & revolving door action.

He endorsed Hillary because he knew — and still knows — that you cannot be successful creating a 3rd party in U.S. politics today. The only way to create a better deal for U.S. Workers is to force the Democratic Party to represent them.

Bernie endorsed Hillary only *after* their heated negotiations over the Democratic Party Platform. That’s where Bernie used all the leverage that he had. And IF Hillary had won, Bernie would have been able to claim that his supporters’ votes made the difference.

Joe Lauria

May 17, 2017 at 14:53

Dear Arnold,
Read my book, which is coming out next month, “How I Lost By Hillary Clinton,” OR Books, in which I examine those very emails.

The link notes your introduction to the book, which would be interesting to preview here. I’m curious whether it is a compilation or memoir.

Joe Lauria

May 20, 2017 at 15:07

Neither. It is commentary on the DNC and Podesta emails and some of her public statements.

Murali

May 17, 2017 at 15:04

Dear Arnold let us see how DNC effected the election of Mrs. Clinton. The Mainstream Media (MSM at least Donna Brazil from DNC and then with CNN) provided the questions to the debates so she could answer them, Then you have the rigged Super Delegates ( a major chunk of delegates) who were gungho for Mrs. Clinton. From the get go Bernie didn’t have a chance despite all that people like you and me cheered on and hoped he will tilt the election to his favor. Now the amount of hell he raised about this collusion against the people’s voice, made me disappointed in him as another shill just like Obama with his Hope and change slogan (Of course the Banksters got their hopes fulfilled while we the people were taken to cleaners, as far as change goes he gave us more of the same like regime change in Libya and tried to in Syria. To make matters worse the exceptional king Obama never bothered to prosecute any bankers or the criminals in Bush administration telling us he doesn’t want to look back but look forward, I guess this doesn’t work for Trump because he wants to keep digging!) Brother we are hood winked by these neocons and exceptional rulers! Wake up and smell the coffe.

arnold oliver

May 17, 2017 at 15:12

You’re kind of drifting away from the topic, Murali.

The question was, what do the emails actually say?

FobosDeimos

May 17, 2017 at 15:33

Here is a summary of the content of the DNC emails, as of July 2016, published by the Washington Post. If you supported Sanders and you still believe that Hillary Clinton and her lackeys at the DNC did nothing wrong, maybe you would need Hillary killing Sanders in front of a TV camera to be aroused…

With the exception of limiting the debates, I don’t see how any of those would affect Sanders’ campaign. Most were proposals and not carried out. It does show Wasserman was biased, but doesn’t really show that she did anything about it.

Bill Bodden

May 17, 2017 at 15:17

Why didn’t Bernie protest loudly?

There were knowledgeable and experienced observers who were skeptical of Bernie Sanders shortly after he began his campaign. One of several plausible accusations was that he would prove to be a “sheepdog” for Hillary and the Democratic party. His eventual alliance with Clinton gives credence to that scenario. There is also the possibility, if not the probability, when it came to crunch time he decided the safer route for his personal interests was to switch, in fact of not in name, from Independent to Democrat.

Brad Owen

May 17, 2017 at 16:29

He also had Seth’s example right in front of him…may also have been reminded, in no uncertain terms, of what happened to RFK in California during primary season. Sanders blinked and swallowed hard

BannanaBoat

May 17, 2017 at 17:19

Then there is or….. was Shawn Lucas

Carolab

May 22, 2017 at 01:12

What is more, people seem to have forgotten that just before the convention, at which Bernie had PROMISED to CONTEST the nomination, Obama and Reid pulled him in for a “private session”…do you remember how they told him to SAY NOTHING and the LOOK on his face? It was the same look at the Convention when Hillary thanked him.

Spoke volumes to me. THEY THREATENED HIM AND/OR HIS FAMILY.

Seth RIch was killed THE DAY BEFORE Bernie endorsed Hillary in New Hampshire.

“After the DNC emails were leaked, Clinton and other Democrats immediately blamed Russia for hacking their computers, but the DNC refused to allow the FBI to examine its computer servers to see who might have hacked in.”
Here are the key incriminating words: “the DNC refused to allow the FBI to examine its computer servers.”
What was it on the DNC computer servers that the DNC was so afraid to show the governmental agency, the federal Bureau of Investigation, while badmouthing a nuclear power and making a laughing stock out of the USA? At the center of this scandal are Clinton and Obama (the latter provided a legal protection and encouraged “Russians did it” script). The story is bit about Bernie any more: the story is about a possible political assassination of a 27-eat-old patriot on behalf of the so called Democratic party led by profiteers of all sorts. Clinton has been the most obvious pupil of Cheney; no daylight between these two.https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2015/11/18/hillary-clinton-dick-cheney-democratic-party/eaepFIflB6f5ELorsVUDdO/story.html

Sunset

May 17, 2017 at 18:18

If my memory serves me correctly, the Russia hacking hoax could have been predicted because one of the leaked DNC emails said if HRC was attacked, the strategy would be to muddy the waters, to distract. Sooo…

An email from DWS dated a year prior to the primaries talked about HRC as the nominee and muddying the waters around her corruption against the eventual Republican nominee meaning they held no contest and she was automatically chosen. Bernie actually won the primaries by 15% nationwide according to exit poll data collected before they cancelled them so they could steal California and get away with it too, he was going to contest the nomination and then suddenly he endorsed the loser after a not so friendly meeting. Bernie won and Shillary was nominated because she was funded by party donors and he was funded by the people, that is more than tipping the scales it’s fraud which is why she was the only one who could lose to Trump. You don’t seem like a Berner if you didn’t pay attention very closely.

California is the Dems Florida…its an absolute disaster and a perfect example of whats wrong with our democracy…they still have almost 3 million ballots..”that they just didnt count!!!”…That states elections are whats wrong with the democrats..Every bit as corrupt as the Republicans elections…

.

Paul G.

May 18, 2017 at 11:32

Recall back when Bernie first ran, and this was public, the DNC refused to give him their mailing list; something any candidate should have, in all fairness, had access too. So right from the get go they were out to spike his potential nomination; even at a time when he was a long shot.

What surprises me is that this guy was so crudely murdered, and left with his valuables ruling out robbery. A more professional hit would have made it look like a suicide or at least snitched his wallet to make it look like a common DC crime. A really professional hit would have come up with a patsy. But I guess the DNC, their friends or whomever did this does not have the CIA’s talented pool of assassins.

AtlHarleyDave

May 21, 2017 at 10:34

It was done to send a message to dem leakers, so they didn’t want to disguise it as a robbery.

unswerve

May 18, 2017 at 16:56

Regardless of whether you think the leaked emails damaged the Clinton campaign, they certainly revealed bias and dirty tricks against Sanders, and are the basis of the accusations by the main stream media, the DNC and others that Russia “interfered” with the election. Of course, no one is suggesting that the emails were false or fake — just that they exposed political skulduggery. If that’s what constitutes “interference”, we need more of it -no matter the source.

Or Russia clean up with there retire plan again alway try to stop the story from come out before the election.

john wilson

May 18, 2017 at 05:04

So where is the laptop with all these emails now? The notion that Russia murdered this man is a fanciful as saying that Russia affected the outcome of the election. This man being murdered so conveniently brings to mind a story about a grassy knowll.

CorBu

May 18, 2017 at 09:37

I don’t think the author is saying that Russia murdered Seth Rich. Quite the contrary. The author is implying that someone involved with the DNC got wind of the leaks and then mysteriously Seth Rich was “robbed” and murdered, without having his wallet, etc. taken. The narrative that the Russians are the big bad bogey man is fabricated to keep citizens’ focus elsewhere; a distraction.